How Danny and Kara started
by Blackshade379
Summary: After over a month of waiting, Danny finally gets the girl he wants. This story covers several different events of their lives on-board the Nathan James. Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH 'THE LAST SHIP'. Please review ;)
1. First meet

Two weeks into the Arctic mission

Danny loved every minute of it. The rocking of the ship as it crashed through the rough northern waves. It was like a dream for him. His comfort zone.

It was a four month mission to the Arctic. They were currently testing some kind of new navy device. Whatever it was, it was above his pay grade to know and above his knowledge to understand in the first place. So far, he had had nothing to do except for lounging about in his quarters with the brief trip to the mainland to escort some doctor back and forth.

_What the hell was she even doing here anyway? _He wondered

It wasn't as if she _needed_ an armed escort. As far as he knew, there weren't any warring nations this far out.

Anyway, if there was one word he could use to describe this mission:

_Boring_

He was currently in the gym, keeping up with his daily work out routine. To anyone else, it would seem like they were just put through hell but, hey, you aren't a SEAL for nothing.

He was just about to leave when they door opened behind him. He heard footsteps heading over to the treadmills across the room from him, the sound of the machine powering up and then the sound of a constant beat to trainers hitting the treadmill in a running manner.

Danny finally let go of the pull up bar he was dangling from and dropped down to the floor. He was about to turn and leave when he saw her.

She had headphones in her ears _probably why she didn't notice me_ Danny thought. Her hair was tied in a neat knot at the back of her head. Hazel eyes that just absolutely glowed in the light. Dark hair that would fit a model from TV. The perfect skin complexion. Legs so long and muscly that she would probably give him a fun for his money.

_Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all…_

_**In the officer mess…**_

_**A month later**_

"Man, can we go yet? I gotta get back to the admiral" Frankie- Danny's seal team mate and best friend- whispered into his ear

Danny had again spent over an hour sitting in his cheap, steel- surprisingly comfortable- chair the navy supply. He would never admit it to anyone- much less Frankie- that he had a reason beyond breakfast to spend all that time there. He was waiting, desperately trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of a particular crewmember

A certain lieutenant.

Danny shot his teammate a silent warning glare over his shoulder. Basically saying 'shut the hell up'. Luckily, he got the message a returned to scraping at his bowl where his breakfast _used _to be. Half an hour ago!

Finally, the door swung open with a creak as two extra people walked into the already crowded mess room. Danny's breath immediately caught, but he didn't let it show. At least he hoped. He tried to ignore the smirk he could see creeping onto Frankie's face. _The bastard. _He knew about Danny's- so not pining- glances he gave her, the ones that he picked up on anyway, whenever this girl walked within about 20 feet of them.

"Look, it's your girlfr-ooofff" Frankie stopped his teasing as a particularly strong elbow nudged into his ribcage.

"God, will you shut up!" Danny hissed quietly

He briefly glanced up to check that no-one was sitting on their table to listen in on them. All clear. _Still safe_ he thought.

Danny watched as Kara sat down to eat with her roommate. _Ayisha_? _Alisha_? Something or other. Anyway, her tag said 'Granderson'. For a brief moment, his and Kara's eyes met. Danny was stunned into paralysis as he stared into those deep, hazel eyes of hers. He could think of nothing more to do than lift his hand up and give a weak, small wave. If he could actually think, he would call it the most awkward thing that he had ever done. Only after he lowered his hand again did he offer his signature smirk that reached up to his left ear. Kara looked a little bit awkward herself as she glanced back to her roommate for a moment who was chatting to her, completely oblivious to Kara and Danny's interaction. She looked back to Danny and gave him a small smile of her own and _damn_ it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He didn't know when Kara had turned back to talk to Granderson. He was still too stuck in his trance state to remember. Only when he got an elbow in his side did he snap back to reality. His first reaction was to whack Frankie right back but when he saw the smirk on his face and the knowing look in his eyes did Danny turn back to his meal which had long gone cold.

"Smoooooth" Frankie murmured despite the glare Danny fixed on him " . It is agonising watching you…and slightly creepy. Have you seen yourself? Especially on the bridge!" Frankie hissed the last part

Danny went wide-eyed and, despite his best efforts went redder than a beetroot. He sheepishly looked at Frankie "I don't know what you're talking about" he said in as gruff a tone as he could

"You think I don't know?" he teased "The _second_ you're on the bridge, you watch her at CIC until the _second_ you leave. You hardly pay attention sometimes when she's nearby"

_Damn it_ Danny thought. He thought he was more subtle after that. Obviously not. Hopefully, Frankie was the only one who knew because, honest to god, if the captain found out… A shudder ran down his spine just thinking about what kind of consequences were waiting for him if anyone else found out.

Almost sensing his friend's thoughts, Frankie added "Don't worry, whenever someone tried to get your attention when you're in one of your…_moods_, I always run interference for you" Danny let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding "I got your back, man"

Beyond that point, Danny just tuned out anything else Frankie was trying to say to him. He just spent the next few minutes glancing back and forth between his empty bowl and Kara.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity for Frankie- and a godsend- Kara pushed away from her table, followed closely by Granderson. He would have whooped with joy were it not for the dozen or so others in the room. "Ok, you've seen her. That should keep you happy for the rest of the day. Now, can we go?"

Instead of an answer, Danny just sent another glare and lifted himself away from the table.

As he walked back to his quarters, only one thought played on his mind

_Only three more months…then we're off this ship_

But that didn't mean he couldn't have some fun before then

_**One week later**_

Danny was out admiring the view on one of the upper decks of the ship. He was able to have a view of most of the ship. He was looking out at a particularly large glacier that was passing close by the ship. That was, until he heard a loud thud coming from behind. He frowned, wondering what could be going on.

When he could go no further on the upper deck, unless he wanted to hit the chain railings preventing people from falling onto the deck below. He searched the area for movement until he saw a crewmember trying to lift up a large crate that had fallen from the person's hand

_That's what caused the noise _he figured

He couldn't see who it was but he was easily able to recognise the hair tied in a knot, the greatest skin he had ever seen- it was Kara.

As he watched, he could see that she was struggling to properly carry it. Her arms were stretched as far as she could get them just to carry it at all. Her steps were slow and few as she staggered across the deck. By the look on her face, she looked frustrated and tired already.

His first instinct when seeing someone like this was to hop over the railings, land in front of her-definitely not to impress her- carry it for her and not take no for an answer. But then he started to think. Would his help be welcome? Would she blow him off and just keep walking? Besides, he couldn't be seen carrying her work load, could he? That could be seen as fraternization, which was a strict no-no in the navy's view. And that had a lot of risks to it.

Kara disappeared inside the ship. If anyone saw Danny, you could easily see the internal battle going on.

_Screw it _he decided

Danny almost ran down the stairs and launched himself inside. He wasn't as familiar with the interior as the rest of the people onboard but he had a pretty good idea. As he jogged, he tried to plot the quickest route he could come up with. Left, right, straight, down the stairs, left, right

Stop. He paused just before the next left and waited

He waited for thirteen seconds. The sound of footsteps coming from the next turn echoed down the hall. Moments later, a massive crate slowly floated into view with a pair of soft, small hands wrapped around the sides of it.

It took every ounce of control for Danny not to easily pick up the crate and be the hero yet again. He settles for clearing his throat to grab her attention. Kara popped her head round the crate with a smile on her face as if she wasn't just carrying her weight in equipment.

"Are you alright?" he asked nervously

This was the first time that he ever gathered up the courage to speak to her in the entire month and a half they've been on their mission

"Oh" she almost yelled surprised by Danny's sudden appearance "Uh…" Kara was about to come up with some excuse, until a rather large grunt escaped her lips as the weight became too much, and she finally conceded "…not really" she sheepishly admitted

Danny smirked and reached to take the crate from Kara. When he had it securely in his arms , the two of them came face to face, their faces barely a foot apart thanks to the thin corridors.

"Sorry about that" Kara apologised sincerely "Miller was supposed to be helping me out, but knowing him, he's probably gotten lost. Again"

Danny just took a moment to stare- unintentionally- at Kara's beautiful looks and shape. Moment over, he nervously cleared his throat and tried to hide the blood he could literally feel rushing to his cheeks.

"So…is this going somewhere?" he asked glancing down the corridor ahead of them

"Oh…yeah. To the bridge. It's just spare oxygen tanks for the HAZMAT suits in case there's some kind of an emergency or…something. Anyway, shall we get going?" Kara asked as she stepped out in front of them.

Danny obediently walked behind her as she led the way –definitely not letting his gaze travel any further south than her hairline… not- right until they reached the bridge. Inside, he could see Captain Chandler and XO Slattery chatting about something or other that he couldn't be bothered with. Besides the few looks some of the bridge crew gave as they realised who was with Kara and also handling her load, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, one of those people that noticed just _had _to be Frankie. What he was doing there Danny had no idea. But one thing was now for sure, in a few hours he and Frankie were going to be trapped in a bunk together with his never ending questions.

As he was leaving, he signalled for Kara to follow him. When he stepped out, he was extremely relieved to hear an extra set of footsteps behind him.

"If you need a hand with anything again…let me know" he said with a hint of enjoyment

"I will, thanks" she said

Danny pursed his lips and stared at his feet for a moment

"Are you available?" he blurted out

_Shit! _he chastened himself mentally _that was _way _too direct. Now, she's gonna think I'm_

"For what?" she asked with a smirk

_Oh, brilliant. She misunderstood my meaning. Perfect, that means I can…Wait, was she teasing me?_

A look at her face gave him his answer. He nodded and turned to leave. He got a few steps before being called back

"Hey, Danny"

He was barely able to register anything as he turned around when there was suddenly soft lips planted on his cheek

Kara's lips

He almost whined in protest when she pulled back.

"I finish my shift at 2100" she said with an almost predator like smile "Meet you at the stern, lieutenant"

Before he could say another word, Kara had disappeared back in through the bridge door.

The only thought going through his head was

_She kissed me! She actually kissed me_

Were he not a SEAL, and were he not on-board a navy destroyed, he might have actually skipped with happiness as he made his way back to his quarters

So much for not fraternising


	2. Save me

**_One week later…_**

Kara was leisurely walking back and forth along the outside of the lower deck, casually observing the landscapes passing the ship's starboard. Since they had arrived at the Arctic, this was her favourite place to be. Where she could just stand and watch the many wondrous shapes of the glaciers that passed them by. If she had a camera with her, she would already have filled its memory.

Whenever her shift finished, if she wasn't with Lieutenant Green- or Danny, as she called him whenever they were alone- you would always find her there. Hours upon hours of just taking in the sights as the ship continued to weave in and out of the frozen wastelands.

The wind in her hair, the great openness in front of her- she had felt more at peace here than she had ever done before- was enough to make her forget everything for a short time. The mission, the whole secrecy thing, the fact that she hadn't been able to contact her mom in almost two months. She could just stand here and feel complete calm- as if nothing else mattered.

She couldn't help but smile as her thoughts caught up with her- she was seeing Danny again tonight. So far, the two of them had been getting along brilliantly. Of course, Danny was still stuttering like a mad man whenever she seemed to hint at the slightest advancement towards him. It was funny to watch the _tough guy_ navy SEAL get reduced to a nervous wreck. It was comforting knowing she had that effect on him. She would definitely use it to her advantage later.

From that moment on the bridge, both of their lives on the _Nathan James_ had improved somewhat. She had noticed and heard from other people's gossip that Danny had begun smiling more often and even the training regime he held over the other SEALS' heads had started getting a bit more lax. She had even noticed the change herself because, yes, she had been looking as well- just a little more discreetly that Danny had.

But, with Kara, she had the best change. What she savoured was the fact that she no longer just had her mother as a constant in her life. She loved her mum more than she could ever say, but…it just wasn't the same.

Now, she could finally say that she wasn't _alone _anymore.

**_On the bridge…_**

Tom Chandler was sitting in his captain's chair, swivelling slowly from side to side as he finally realised how bored he was. Nothing but waiting to be done as Dr. Scott continued on with her sample taking. That's all she had done since she got here. Test. After test. After test.

Over a month and a half of it! He couldn't wait to get out of the Arctic. Two and a half more months couldn't come quick enough. And the worst past was that the entire ship had been ordered into radio silence. No contact to the outside world. He couldn't call his wife or his kids

The door to the bridge creaked open behind him. Tom glanced to the side to see his XO- Slattery- stepping towards him. He stood to attention next to his captain

"What can I do for you, Mike?" Chandler asked

"Sir, I think we should take the ship further out to open sea" he said respectfully "Give ourselves a little bit more space from the mainland"

Tom frowned and looked up, genuinely concerned

"Why's that?" he asked

"This area we're moving in to next has some pretty sharp rock formations near the coast. We keep moving in the way we are, we're running a slight risk of running in to one of 'em"

"hmmmm" Tom thought while nodding his head. He turned to his ship's pilot "What's your opinion?" he asked

The crewmember gazed out the window in front of him to see the several lumps of land that rose out of the water a few feet with jagged ends on some of them. If any of them were to hit the side of most smaller vessels, they usually wouldn't last more than a few minutes before thinking. He swallowed nervously and then turned back to his captain "I believe I can get us through, sir" he reported with a nod of his head towards the captain and the XO

Tom pondered his options for a moment "If you think you can get us through, then continue on course" he instructed the pilot. He turned back to face Slattery "Besides, we need to keep close to the coast in case Dr. Scott needs help. Stick close. Always stick close" he recited the words they read from their last order.

Mike sighed resignedly, saluted to his captain and left the bridge. As he walked, he couldn't shift the feeling that something was going to go wrong. He could only hope that no-one got hurt.

**_Outside, on deck_**

Kara looked down at her watch and sighed internally- she had to leave the incredible sights in front of her and return to her quarters- but at least she was going in order to get ready to see Danny in an hour.

Before she could turn to walk away, the floor she was stood on shook violently from side to side. The skies were filled with loud thudding of metal on rock. The whole ship was shacking. Kara was barely able to get her bearings before her back was slammed into the chain railings running along the edges of the ship. Her hands flailed about trying desperately to cling onto anything

She obviously failed because the next thing she knew, she was a foot underneath the sea.

_Oh shit _she thought_ gotta get out quick_

She thought back to her training the navy gave her before coming here. Hypothermia sets in real quick if you don't get out in time. Try to stay out of or at least above the water as long as possible.

_Yeah, right. With what?_ She silently cursed

She tried to desperately kick and craw her way out to the top of the water. Her cries for help were being muffled by the water. Above her, she could hear the klaxon from the ship meaning that someone had gone overboard.

She continued to struggle for the next for moments until a wave of tiredness suddenly came over her. The cold was getting to her and her strokes became fewer in between and more laboured. It got so bad, she finally gave up. Black splodges started to appear in the corners of her vision. Her body started to slip underneath the water again and ended when her hand finally slipped underwater.

Her eyes fluttered closed tiredly and she could tell she was moments from passing out.

Surely she imagined it, but briefly, she thought she could see something large hit the water and drift towards her.

The last thing she felt before succumbing to the darkness was a strong hand gripping her own.

* * *

What happened next was a complete blur for her. It was like she was stuck on audio only. And it was very faint

"Hang on, Kara" a soft voice said. It sounded close…and_ familiar_

"Lieutenant, thank god" a gruff voice sounded from above her

"Sir, let me take her from you" a third voice rang out

"No, I got her" that same voice from the first time said. But this time, it wasn't soft. It was a warning growl

"Danny, you're both gonna get Hypothermia. Let me take her"

"It's okay, Frankie, I didn't spend as much time in the water as she did" the voice sounded pleading

Now, there were strong, comforting hands wrapped around her. She briefly felt being carried and it sounded like the person was running. A few agonising moments later, she heard a door being opened in front of her

"Doc Rios! Here!"

"Set her down over there and get yourself changed" an annoyingly calm voice instructed

That was the last thing she heard before falling into unconsciousness again.

* * *

The next time she opened her eyes, everything was bleary around her. The walls around her were painted white and there was an uncomfortably blinding white light above her.

_The infirmary! _she reasoned _why was she in the infirmary?_

"Kara" she recognised that soft voice. _Danny. What was he doing here?_ "Kara. Can you hear me?" he asked

**_One hour earlier…_**

Danny was sitting in the Mess room, trying to enjoy his meal that had now become bland after almost two months of the same thing day in and day out.

But, he still had a smile on his face because he was going to be seeing Kara later. They both scheduled to meet after dark- to avoid judging eyes- at the stern of the ship, just like the first time.

Then, thinking about Kara brought a wave of uneasiness through his gut.

_What the…_ he thought _Oh, I'm sure it's nothing. Just me being paranoid. 'as usual' as Frankie likes to remind me. All. The. Time. _

With great force, suddenly the entire room was thrown into chaos. Everything shook multiple times. Plates clattering and mugs smashing as they fell to the ground could be heard all over the Mess room. Multiple yelps of fear escaped several crewmembers mouths. Danny instinctively gripped onto the table he was sitting on to stop himself from falling over. It was a good thing they were securely attached to the floor. Just as quickly as it came, it disappeared and the ship stopped shaking.

Just when they thought the drama was over, a loud klaxon sounded through the ship. Everyone's heads snapped up. Danny recognised it as the signal that someone had gone overboard.

_At least Kara was in her quarters last I saw her_ he thought

Again, thinking about Kara had brought another wave of uneasiness over him. Normally, in this situation, Danny wouldn't think much of the klaxon could- he would rather leave it to the more professional crewmembers who would mount a rescue if one was needed- but this time, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

With a tired sigh, Danny pushed himself out from the table and marched off to find out what was going on, careful not to step on any of the kitchen utensils on the floor

* * *

He hoped they got whoever it was out of the water soon because spending any amount of time in the kind of water they were in was definitely bad. If you weren't outright dead when they brought you up, then you were more than likely to suffer from some degree of Hypothermia.

With the feelings he had and now this- it can't be coincidence. Something was up…and he wasn't going to like what he found.

Within a few seconds, he had made his way outside and over to where Frankie was looking out at the ship's starboard. Frankie, using his SEAL training, was easily able to sense someone was coming.

Danny, when he saw Frankie, was easily able to pick up on how his teammate's mouth opened and closed several times, like he was trying to figure out what to tell him.

"What's going on?" he asked trying not to raise his voice

"Danny" Frankie said looking down "It's Kara. She's the one that fell overboard. She was right below me on the lower deck. I saw her but I couldn't get to her in time"

Frankie saw as Danny's face dropped and a deep scowl replaced his curious one that was there moments ago. He turned back to where he could see Kara struggling to keep herself afloat. She was only about 20 feet from the side of the ship. It would be easy enough to reach her but then he would be risking getting himself caught and just making the jobs of the rescue people more difficult.

He didn't see as Danny ran over to a nearby supply crate. He didn't see as Danny reached inside and pulled out thick, strong rope or when he expertly tied it into a harness around his legs.

The only thing he registered was when Danny walked past him, pushed something into his hands and kept walking towards the chain railings. He looked down at his hands and saw the rope trailing from his hands to an unknown destination.

_What the hell am I supposed to do with…OH SHIT! _He thought as Danny dived over the railings and into the sea. With half a second to think, he tightened his grip on the rope around his arms and stood fast.

When Danny hit the water, it was cold at first but any discomfort he felt was pushed to the back of his mind, overwhelmed by his concern for Kara. He ducked underneath the water and searched around him until he saw a figure in the darkness. He wasted no time in swimming down. He reached out to grab onto her hand and tugged her up

_Have to get her out of the water. Have to get her warm _He kept telling herself as he pulled the both of them up until he reached the waterline. He gasped for breath as his head breached the water. Without another thought, he wrapped more of the rope around Kara's waist to keep her secure. He wrapped one arm around Kara's waist and curled the rope leading back to ship around his other arm.

"Pull us up" he yelled up to Frankie. "Hold on, Kara" he spoke softly to her unmoving body in his arms.

Soon, he felt the tug at his waist as Frankie and another of the SEAL team members that had joined Frankie.

When they were dragged back over the railings of the ship, Danny stepped out of the harness around his legs and waist and untangled Kara from the rope around her waist.

"Lieutenant, thank god" Frankie said as he patted his shoulder in amazement

Smith-the third SEAL- held his hands out to take Kara from him

"Sir, let me take her from you" he said as he moved to Kara's level

Danny just gripped on tighter to Kara's lean body as he stood up slowly, carrying Kara bridal style.

"No, I got her" Danny tried to keep the venom out of his words but he just couldn't help himself. He started walking off towards the infirmary on-board the ship. He knew it well enough, he had to half-carry his SEAL team mates thee often enough after practice before.

"Danny, you're both gonna get Hypothermia. Let me take her" Frankie tried, hoping Danny would be more co-operative with his best-friend.

"It's ok, Frankie. I didn't spend as much time in the water as she did" Danny reassured him before taking off at a run with Frankie and Smith following close behind.

As he ran, he could hear small groans of pain coming from Kara when some of his movements were too quick or sudden. But, in record time, Danny eventually reached the infirmary and kicked the door open-luckily for the door, it wasn't latched closed- spotting the Doctor leaning over a clipboard on a table

"Doc Rios!" Danny shouted. Th man's head snapped to face Danny "Here"

The older man took one look at him and Kara and pointed to a bed in the corner of the room "Put her down over there" he then pointed to a storage cupboard "And get yourself changed"

Danny frantically moved over to the bed and laid Kara on top of it. He took one look at her, letting his eyes roam all over her in a brief moment of panic

_Oh god, please don't die_ he thought before hopping back to give the doctor some space to work. If he didn't suddenly feel cold now, he wouldn't have bothered with the instructions the doctor gave him. He sighed angrily and stomped over to the storage locker Rios had pointed out. Inside, he found clean- and dry- clothes, and also, conveniently, a towel. He snatched the towel, a simple t-shirt with 'NAVY' written on it, a pair of track-suit pants and socks.

Danny went inside a small examination room to the side of the infirmary. Within 10 minutes, he had dried himself off and slipped into the clean clothes that he had taken with him. When he stepped back out, he saw that Rios was no longer standing over Kara which could only be a good sign to Danny. He tried to find where the small man had run off to but soon he spotted him sat at his desk talking with a man with greying hair. He was wearing a navy camo uniform. Danny's eyes went wide as he realised that the man was none other than Captain Chandler himself.

As if he sensed he was being watched, Tom turned to face Danny and he did _not _look impressed. He took four long strides until he was almost mere inches away from Danny

"What in the hell were you thinking diving out into that water?" he asked in that strange and creepy calm voice he had perfected thanks to his captain's status "Do you realise that you put not only yourselves at risk but also the other members of your team with your little stunt. With your actions, it would have not just been Lieutenant Foster in danger, it could have been you and two others. It would have taken us that much longer to get all of you out of the water if you couldn't get back on-board. It would have cost us time. Precious time. Time that could have meant the deaths of one or more of you" Tom's voice went low and threatening "Do you understand?"

Danny couldn't do anything but lower his head to look at the floor and mumble "Yes, sir" He wanted to say something more. But, what _could_ he say? _'Excuse me, captain. But I rescued _Kara_ because I've been absolutely and totally in love with her since the moment I first saw her and we've been seeing each other for the past week?' _Yeah, if that didn't get him kicked right back into the Arctic Ocean, Danny didn't know what would.

"Good" Tom hissed. But then his face softened and when he took a quick glance back to where Kara still laid, unmoving, he said "Thank you…for saving my crewmember"

Danny silently nodded his head, still not looking up at the captain. Tom gently brushed shoulders with Danny as he moved to exit. Moments later, the door to the infirmary opened and closed shut again.

Danny took a seat next to the bed Kara was on and stared at her face. He briefly took her hand into his and almost flinched back because of how cold she was. During the time he was changing, they seemed to also get Kara into dry clothes. Now, she was just laying on the infirmary bed with a blanket over her, her eyes sealed shut

"How is she?" Danny asked Rios

"She's suffered only from mild Hypothermia. No permanent damage should be done" he reported. When he looked over his shoulder to check no-one was looking, he chouched down to look at Danny "No matter what the Captain said, it would have taken longer for them to get to her. If you hadn't done what you did, then there might have been worse off by the time they got her back to me"

Danny didn't know what to say to that, so he settled on giving a short nod, his eyes never leaving Kara. Rios sighed and stood up. "I've got some check-in's to do with some of the crew. I assume you'll be staying with her" without waiting for an answer Rios walked away, calling a "Radio me if anything happens" over his shoulder

So, that was where he stayed for the next 50 or so minutes, right by Kara's side.

* * *

Danny was beginning to doze off slightly in his chair. But he was snapped out of it as he heard a soft grunt coming from Kara. He shot forward in an instant, taking her hand

"Kara, can you hear me?" he asked hopefully

"D-Danny" she slurred

"I'm here, Kara" he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze

"What-What happened?" she asked as she tried to get up

Danny quickly edged her back down to the bed with a hand on her shoulder "Shhh, it's right" When he saw that she wasn't going to try getting up again. She looked at him, willing him to continue "You fell overboard, Kara. Apparently, the side of the ship grazed a few rocks near the coast. The pilot wasn't careful enough. There wasn't any damage, just a lot of broken plates and spilled coffee" Kara smirked and let out a brief laugh, making Danny smile along with her "But anyway, when I found out it was you, I dived in after you" Danny couldn't help the small amount of liquid behind his eyes that was threatening to fall. His voice broke slightly when he continued "Kara, I was so worried. When I got to you, I thought…I thought you were dead. Your pulse was _so_ weak"

With the look on his face, Kara wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and make sure he knew that she face fine- that she wasn't going anywhere. She looked around the infirmary briefly. When she saw that no-one was about, she gently put her hand on the side of Danny's face. Then her face turned devious and a one sided smirk formed on her face

"You jumped into the arctic ocean for me?" she said more as a statement

Danny couldn't help but release a bark of laughter and place his hand on the side of Kara's face.

"Of course I did" he said as if it was obvious "Kara, I know we haven't been at this long but, I want you to know that I will always be there to save you. I'll always be there for you, _period"_

"But, Danny, what if someone who saw you starts to suspect something. What if the captain starts suspect-" she ranted only to be cut off

"Shhh, it's okay. It's not as if the world's ending"

Kara took a deep, calming breath and looked up lovingly at Danny

"You're right" she agreed. Kara used her elbows to push herself into a sitting position on the bed, but this time, Danny made no move to stop her "Come here" she whispered

Kara placed her hand at the back of Danny's head and pulled him in for a big, long kiss. All their emotions that they couldn't express through words came through in that one kiss.

"I love you" Kara whispered as they separated

"I love you too"

Danny pulled away and sank back into his chair, content with knowing that Kara was safe again.

Doc Rios chose that moment to walk casually back into the infirmary. With a brief glance towards the two of them, he figured that they were both well enough.

"Rest, Kara" Danny whispered "I'll be right here"

Kara just smiled and lowered herself back onto the bed. When her head hit the pillow, she closed her eyes and gave a long relieved sigh

They were both safe and they had each other

_And that was all that mattered to them_


	3. Ice skating and Dinner

**_Two days later…_**

Nightfall. The darkness providing the perfect cover for late night get-togethers for two certain people. Kara bobbed her head outside the door to her quarters, looking left then right, making sure no-one was about. When she saw that it was clear, she cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure Alisha was still asleep on her bunk. She had run the risk of her waking up while Kara was in one of her midnight escapes. Satisfied that Alisha would not be waking up any time soon, Kara stepped out fully into the corridor and closed the door behind her.

Again checking to see if anyone was nearby, she treaded lightly- as to not alert anyone on the night shift- in the direction of her and Danny's meeting point.

She could only guess as to what Danny had in store for her this time

* * *

When she opened the hatch door to the helicopter bay at the stern of the ship- she had taken to avoiding the edges of the ship thanks to her recent trip overboard- Kara, at first, couldn't see anyone. Her mind began to conjure up theories. He had said tonight, right? Surely he couldn't have forgotten already? He had only told her this morning? Where could he be?

Just when she was about to turn around and search for him elsewhere, she spotted the silhouette of a person sat on a box hunched over on himself, trying to keep himself hidden. She couldn't blame him. If anyone found them together like this, especially at this time of the night, there would be questions…questions that they couldn't answer without putting their careers in jeopardy.

The captain was already suspicious. He didn't let it show but Danny and Kara could see the inner workings of the captain's brain trying to wrap his head around what was going on. They couldn't afford any more slip-ups.

Kara slowly, and quietly strode over to where Danny was still sat, seemingly unaware of her presence. When she was close enough, she could see that he was packing a duffel bag- with what, she couldn't see.

"Danny?" she whispered to get his attention

Danny's head whipped up so quickly it was a wonder how he didn't get whiplash

"Kara" he breathed out a sigh of relief as he closed up the bag by his feet before Kara could get a good look into it.

Danny slung it so that the strap laid across from his left shoulder to his bottom right torso, where it sat comfortably. With his years of military experience, he knew the best way to carry something without it getting in the way.

"Hey" she greeted as her hand went up to touch the side of his face. Kara raised herself onto her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. "How are you?" he asked still doting on her- in secret, of course- because she was only a day out of the infirmary, having spent the night there. Luckily, Doc Rios had given up on the attempt to make Danny leave on the fourth or fifth try, muttering something about 'having to transfer back to dry land' and several grumbling curse words along with 'un co-operative patients' and 'intolerable'.

"I'm…all right" she said with a forced smile, then ducked her head to look at the floor, hoping it was enough to fool Danny.

It wasn't.

Danny seemed to have some sort of sixth sense when it came to Kara. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and another on her chin to make her look up at him

"_Nothing _will happen to you" he said as he stared deeply into her eyes "Not as long as I'm there to catch you" he attempted to lighten the mood

Kara smirked and laughed, immediately raising her hand to cover her mouth to silence any more sounds before anyone heard. Danny could still see the smirk behind her hand. He pried her hand away with his and held onto it as he pulled her more towards the stern of the ship- more towards the edge.

Danny seemed to remember something as he spun round, reaching down to pull up something that lay on the top of the crate. He revealed one of the SEAL jackets- specially designed for the cold weather- and held it open for her to slip her arms inside.

"Here. Put this on" he instructed

Kara eyed it warily and looked up suspiciously for a moment before sighing and wrapping herself up in it and zipping it closed. She patted down the jacket to remove and creases and looked up at Danny expectantly.

"Come on" he gently pulled at their still connected hands and pulled her over to the very edge of the stern, until they were almost on the verge of falling. She was about to pull them back as forcefully as she could…but then she saw the start of a ladder going down below them, towards the sea below them. Kara slowly edged her way forward. Looking down, she saw that there was a zodiac waiting for them at the bottom. "I thought we could take a trip to the mainland" he said hopefully

"Uh, Danny…" she started, sounding like she was going to point out something obvious "Are you forgetting about _radar. _They'll see us"

_What was Danny thinking_ she thought _The moment that we leave, they'd be able to see us. There's no way that we could get away with this. Oh, no, this is such a bad ide-_

"Relax" he said, snapping her out of her thoughts "I got someone working on it" he held out his hand for her to take

She just eyed him suspiciously

_What did he do?_

* * *

**_On the bridge…_**

XO Slattery took a sip of coffee from his thermos. He leaned against a workstation as he gazed out into the darkness. Visibility was about as far as to the end of the ship that was illuminated by lights. It was just him and one other night shift crew on the bridge

How he hated the night shift. There was even less to do at night than there was in the day and even then there wasn't much to do but run constant drills and constant…_waiting_. Just endless waiting. God, how much he wished Dr. Scott would just finish her work so they could get the hell out of there.

The second crewmember on the bridge was checking the radar screen. Nothing but them for miles. No blips or alerting bleeps. The one good part of the nightshift that he particularly enjoyed was that he never really had to deal with anything important or threatening to the ship.

Suddenly, the screen flickered once in front of him. He frowned and stared more intently down at the screen just to make sure that he hadn't imagined it.

The screen flickered more violently, The image being distorted and warped until, finally, the screen just went dark.

"Whoooaaa" he mumbled to himself as he raised his hands off the panel for a moment. The next second, he was frantically taping away at switches on the wall nearby and on the panel itself, trying desperately to get it working again. After about half a minute, he turned to the XO who was still unaware of the recent development "Sir, you should take a look at this" he said trying to keep the panic out of his voice

Slattery's head shot over to look at him. He strode over and looked down at the blank screen where the radar should be. He looked it up and down

"What the hell's going on?" he whispered to himself

* * *

**_On the radar tower…_**

Frankie chuckled to himself as he walked away, tossing the large chuck of ice from one hand to the other. It was large, thick and tough enough to do some serious damage. Behind him, a panel sparked wildly and the lights attached to it flickered.

It wasn't damaged enough to warrant a return to a nearby naval base but, it was enough to buy a few hours' worth of the ship being blind while the crew tried to find the problem and repair it.

Frankie tossed the chunk of ice to the ground, not really caring where exactly it ended up as long as it could be found by someone else.

To anyone that came upon the scene, it would seem as if a chunk of ice had been flipped up by the movement of the ship. Out of all the mystery, one thing was clear.

Danny definitely owed him, big time.

But, if it meant Danny was able to have some alone time with that sweetheart of his, Frankie was more than happy to help

* * *

**_Stern…_**

Kara gave up on trying to guess what Danny was up to and just decided to go along with it. If they were going down, then they would go down together

"Come on" Danny urged, shaking his head towards where the ladder was.

With her back on the rest of the ship, she wasn't able to see the flashes of light coming from one of the towers of the ship. But, Danny was able to clearly understand the pattern

Morse Code

'All clear' There was a short pause before 'Have fun'

Danny rolled his eyes and put out a two-finger salute in the general direction that the flashes came from. That was his way of saying 'Thanks'

When he turned round, he saw that Kara was still looking over the edge with uncertainty. She didn't seem confident that she would be able to do it without some encouragement. Something he could easily provide.

Danny walked up behind her and slid his hand into hers. Kara turned to him and smiled softly

"Promise you won't let me fall?" she asked, half joking, but Danny could hear the underlying desperation in her voice. It almost made him want to wrap his arms around her and protect her from the rest of the world. It took everything not to do just that. Instead, he just squeezed her hand reassuringly

"I promise" he said sincerely

Danny stepped forward and began to climb down the ladder. When he got a few steps down, he gripped tightly, looked back up at Kara and extended his hand up. She smiled brightly and, in a moment of bravery, she took the first few steps down the ladder.

* * *

For the rest of the journey down, she refused to look down, even to see Danny. The only reason she knew that she had hit the bottom was when her foot hit the zodiac itself. She felt strong hands around her waist, helping her as she stepped down off the ladder and keep her balanced as she settled on one of the seats.

Danny untied the rope holding the zodiac onto the ship and walked over to the wheel. He pulled the engine cord until it spluttered to life. He steered them towards the frozen lands of the Arctic. With one last glance, he saw the final message from Frankie

'I'll be ready'

He smirked and shook his head fondly

_This should be good_ he smiled

* * *

Danny expertly moored the zodiac on the coast, using several large pegs to keep it from drifting away. Thankfully, the waters were calmer than they were near the ship so at least it didn't take too much effort before they could set off. He chose the area where his team had previously brought Dr. Scott so there were several snowmobiles for them to choose from.

"Ready?" Danny asked as he looked over his shoulder at Kara following close behind him.

She just smiled at him as he loaded his duffle bag into one of the storage cases on the sides of the snowmobile.

He climbed onto one and couldn't help but smile when he felt two thin arms wrap around his chest. Turning the key and twisting the handlebar, they both sped off.

* * *

They travelled for about 15 minutes, neither of them saying anything. Nothing happened except for Kara every now and then tightening and loosening her grip on Danny as she tried to snuggle into the warmth radiating off of him.

Finally, she felt Danny slow down the snowmobile. As it grinded to a halt, Kara peered out above Danny's shoulder and saw that they had arrived in an area that was completely flat for miles in front of them.

When Danny climbed off, she followed him and gazed around, trying to get a lay of the land.

_Why has he brought me _here? She thought

Just when she was about to ask, she spotted that the snow covered land in front of them…wasn't actually snow. The ground was a light blue colour. Finally, it clicked.

They were standing next to a frozen lake. Normally, her instincts would tell her to get as far away as she could get. But, this being the Arctic, it was likely frozen several feet down, at least.

Also, she knew that she would be okay because she was with Danny. And, she trusted him completely.

"So, what are we doing here?" she asked as she turned to Danny. What she saw made her stop for a brief moment and frown.

Danny was crouched next to the storage case, removing his duffel bag. She was about to ask again when he beat her to it.

"You know" he started, sounding nervous "when we were talking yesterday, you mentioned that you had never been ice skating before" he laid the duffle bag on the ground and rubbed the back of his neck- another sign of him being nervous, she noted. "I just thought that…you know" he trailed off, looking down. Kara followed his gaze to the floor. She stared down at something silver shining up at her.

Ice Skates.

"I don't know how…or _why_ exactly a navy ship was carrying them, but I searched around for a bit. And then I found those in an old storage container" he smiled up at her "And…then I got an idea"

Kara finally got the idea. Instead of saying anything, she leaned down to flick both sides of the bag open and pulled out a smaller set of skates which, she assumed, were for her.

Danny let out a relieved breath as he saw that she was going along with it. He pulled on his own skates with a lot more efficiency that Kara, thanks to many previous experiences doing the same thing at home.

When they were both finished, Danny steadily made his way onto the frozen water which made for a perfect ice skating rink with Kara holding on for dear life if death grip she had was anything to go by. He tested the surface and was glad to feel that it was still perfectly flat. He held out his free arm and opened his hand for her to take. She reached out and was about to take it when her foot slipped out from under her. Before she could fall, almost at all, she felt a strong arm wrap around her.

Kara looked up at Danny, with that signature smirk on his face. She nervously brushed some hair behind her ear and her face was slightly flushed "Uh…thanks" she laughed nervously. Danny guided her fully onto the frozen ice, putting his arms under hers to keep her steady.

"Relax" he told her "I got you" he promised "Just look at me, and follow my lead"

* * *

The next hour, or two hours, or whatever. Hell, to Kara, it could have been a century, she was perfectly happy to get lost in Danny's deep, green eyes. By the end, she and Danny were skating almost in synch with each other.

"Hey, I never asked. How did you find this place?" she asked, smiling as if it didn't really matter what the answer was

He fake scoffed, pretending to look hurt "What did you think I did all day while over here with Dr. Scott? Sit around all day? I explored…for strategic purposes, of course, and I came upon this place" he explained

Kara laughed and leaned up to kiss him. Everything was going perfectly for Danny…until he slipped. Even though she was good, Kara was no-where near able to support him.

So that was how they ended up. Danny lying flat on his back, with Kara's smaller body, athletic figure lying on top of him. At first, they froze the moment they realised what kind of position they were in.

Of course, their paralysis quickly wore off and was replaced with another feeling.

Desire

Kara launched her lips forward to crash down on Danny's. She placed her hands on the sides of his face to keep him from moving and she did it without disconnecting their lips. Danny placed one hand on the back of her head and threaded his fingers through her hair.

For them, it was perfect.

Just the two of them. Their responsibilities and the people who would judge them miles and miles away from them. Nothing but the vast openness where anything was possible. They could have stayed there forever, were it not for the cold.

When they had to come up for breath, Kara just stared into Danny's eyes, saw the pure devotion and love towards her and, after that, she couldn't help herself from crashing her lips down once more. Kara poured everything she had into kissing him. Every emotion that she hadn't already expressed was coming out through her lips. By the way that Danny kissed her back, she could guess that he felt the same.

After a full 10 minutes, Kara pulled her head up and breathed deeply. Below her, Danny was out of breath and panting, but never taking his eyed off of Kara. Stealing one last kiss from him before standing up, pulling on Danny's hand, telling him to do the same.

"I think we should get back to the ship" she whispered, disappointment clear in her voice "Won't be too long before someone notices the zodiac missing…and us"

Danny sighed before nodding "Yeah. I guess you're right"

He undid the laces to his skates before changing them for his standard issue boots before helping Kara slip out of her skates.

* * *

The journey back to the coast was much the same as the one on the way there. With Kara snuggling as much as she could into Danny, trying to keep warm.

When they climbed off the snowmobile, Danny hung back from Kara to make a sneaky radio call

"Frankie, we still good to move?" he asked

_"__Yeah, you're clear. Radar's still down. I don't think they've ever realised what caused the problem yet" _Danny could hear the chuckle in his teammate's voice even through the radio

"Thanks, man. And…the other thing…" Danny trailed

_"__Yeah…I got it covered. Don't worry"_

"All right. Remind me to give you the day off tomorrow" he chuckled before tucking his radio back inside his jacket.

* * *

Half an hour later, Danny had the zodiac hoisted back out of the water and back to where it should be, ready for its next use.

He turned to Kara. She lifted herself onto her toes and pressed a deep, loving kiss to his lips.

"I had a really good time, Danny" she told him as she put her hand onto his cheek "I'll see you next time" even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, Kara pulled away and turned away, ready to walk away.

Danny reached out for her hand to stop her from leaving

"Oh, no" he said with a hint of teasing "We're not done quite yet" he pulled her back and nodded his head towards the nearby door.

Kara just followed as Danny led her through the winding corridors of the many bulkheads and corridors. When they turned one corner, Kara almost stopped dead in her tracks, spin and run when she saw someone coming the other way. But something about him made her change her mind

The man was dressed in the same SEAL team uniform as Danny- so if he mentioned anything to anyone, she had no doubt Danny would have something to say about it. And when he saw her and Danny together, he had this sort of knowing look in his eyes-like he was actually pleased to see them together. Thirdly, she recognised this man as Frankie, and if Kara remembered properly, he was Danny's best friend. So, he probably wouldn't endanger Danny's career by saying anything.

"Lieutenants" Frankie greeted as he passed them by in the corridor

Danny gave a short nod to him and then switched back to pulling Kara along. Moments later, they arrived at the Officers Mess. He held the door open for her as she stepped inside.

What she saw inside made her smile brighter than she ever had before. On one of the tables, were two placemats with a bowl on each with each slightly steaming from being freshly cooked. She flashed a grin to Danny and shook her head affectionately as she chuckled.

Danny checked to make sure that the meal was exactly what he had asked for

_Thank you, Frankie _He thought happily. It was practically a godsend when Danny had discovered Frankie's amazing talents when it came to the kitchen. And something that he took advantage of plenty of times. But, now…now was the best time.

When they sat on either end of the table, Danny watched Kara as she lifted the cloth meant to keep the heat in from the bowl. This was the most important part.

"Hmm" she hummed as she inspected the food "Chicken Risotto"

_Please like it, please like it, please like it, please like it _Danny chanted

"My favourite" she smiled

_YES. YES. YES. YEEES_ Danny definitely didn't feel like jumping out of his seat and doing star jumps because he was so happy-not.

"I do hope it tastes nice" he said

Kara dived into her bowl with her fork and took a sampling bite. The way she moved her mouth showed that she was tasting and analysing every part of it

"Hm…could use a little bit more salt…but very nice all the same"

"Oh…`so now you're a risotto expert" he said, but with no venom behind it, just teasing

"Well…when I was home, it was what my mum and I would always make on my first night back. It kind of became a tradition since I became Navy. So…yeah, I was always taste tester" she smiled as if reliving the memory in her head

Danny smiled at her, purely because he was able to see her smile. That was enough to make him happy.

* * *

Unfortunately, their meal was over far too quickly for Danny's liking. They had made small chat about everything and nothing to do with them. Kara's many stories about home and one or two embarrassing stories about college life. Some of Danny's stories from his time with his team and how they would always play pranks on each other when it was an off day.

When they stepped out of the Mess, they both knew that it was time to separate, they each had different parts of the ship to get back to.

"Ice skating and dinner" Kara mused "That's…new for me. Especially for a first proper date"

Danny looked down at the floor "You didn't like it" he decided rubbing the back of his neck. His mind ran wild with different theories "I knew I should have gone with the stargazing thing I thought of before. It would have been easier and less press-"

Danny was silenced as Kara's lips caught his in a breath-taking kiss. He eagerly returned the feeling

When she was certain he wouldn't say anything more, only then did she release him

"You know, maybe when we get back, you can take me to a real ice rink" she smiled as she turned, walking away from him for the night

* * *

When Danny got back to his quarters, he opened the door only to find that Frankie was still wide awake, giving him that look that translated as 'I want to know everything. Now'. He blew out a tired breath.

Any plans he had for grabbing some sleep within the next two hours had been wiped out.

* * *

Kara slowly creaked the door to her room open, trying desperately not to wake her roommate.

No such luck

When she climbed onto the top bunk, she heard a groan from behind her. Alisha slurred out

"Where the hell have you been?" her voice heavy from sleep

"Oh..just exploring. The arctic is a lot more fun than I thought it was when we first got here"

Without waiting for a response, Kara settled in closed her eyes and happily succumbed to sleep.

Her smile never leaving her face


	4. over-protective brother figure

**_Three days later…_**

Kara sat at her post at CIC. Bored out of her mind, staring blankly at the screen in front of her. Another test in progress. Weapons testing. Just endless testing. Over and over and over again, only to be taking part in a whole new list of things afterwards. She looked out the window and saw the pitch black skies- the reason why they were choosing this time to test the weapon. Only problem was that her body clock would be ruined by the time she got home. Here, she was used to staying up at times where it would be about noon in her hometown.

_Jesus, and we're only halfway through the mission_ she sighed. Still just over two months away before their mission ends and they could get the heck out of there.

She thought that she would have gotten completely used to the temperature differences by now. But-no- she was still freezing her arse off whenever she spent too much time outside on deck.

The view on the computer showed the camera feed from on-board the missile. Her hand firmly grasped the joystick next to her as she maneuverer it through the half frozen obstacles. She nudged it slightly until it locked on to the dummy target placed by the helicopter. The missile charged forward until it hit. The blip coming up on the screen next to her before a 'Confirmed Hit' message.

"Boom" she said in a fake excited tone

Kara slipped off her headset with the briefest of smiles. She swivelled in her chair and turned to Captain Chandler who was pacing and observing the CIC team's work.

"Sir, we have a confirmed hit. Target destroyed. Weapon operating within all projected parameters" she reported

Chandler gave a short outburst of gleeful laughter

"Outstanding" he complimented them "Great job, everyone" he walked over to the ships comms system, undid the box lid and clutched the speaker in his hand "Attention, all hands. This is the captain. I just thought I should let you all know that we've just completed yet another successful test of our new weapons. Not only does that mean that the navy gets a new toy to play with…"there was a slight chuckle from all the members on the bridge "it also means that we're one step closer to getting back home"

_Where me and Danny and finally be free to do whatever we want_ without _over 200 people in a tight space to try and avoid_ Kara thought

That began a whole flood of thoughts about Danny- how much she wished that they could just get off the _Nathan James_ for more than a few hours of alone time , how much she wanted to never let go of him, how the look of his body would rival the half-god Hercules himself, how much she just wanted him to-

No. No, she couldn't think like that now. Not on the bridge. Not while she was on duty. _That_ could get people killed. Her ship-mates. Her friends.

Kara shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and returned to processing the test results and filing them away for report

* * *

Kara's shift ended soon after. By then it was almost nightfall with almost nothing going on anymore. She stepped out of the bridge and, immediately, her thoughts turned to Danny. Under normal circumstances, Kara and him would meet up in their usual spot near the gym and go for something to eat in the Officer's Mess-sitting in different places of course- while trying to not look directly at each other for more than a few seconds at a time. But, today, Dr. Scott had pretty much demanded that she stay overnight on the mainland and-_as per usual-_ Danny was so kindly dragged along with it without him getting a word in edgeways, not that he would anyway.

_Bloody, evil, tyrant Dr. Scott. Why the hell does she have to be here and mess everything up_

In her head, Kara began to think up multiple ways that she could get rid of Dr. Scott without anyone thinking it was her. Perhaps she could take an _accidental _tumble off the side of the ship during a storm. Or perhaps a fire in her lab.

Even though Dr. Scott was a constant pain in the backside for the majority of the crew, Kara also knew that, without her, the SEALS would never have been assigned to the _Nathan James_ and Kara would never have met Danny. That almost made Kara want to overlook the doctor's annoying habits.

Almost

So, she tiredly walked to the Mess room, grabbed a small sandwich to-go and quickly made her way to her quarters.

* * *

Kara sat cross legged on her bunk, one arm propping up her head, and the other holding open the book in front of her. She hated to admit it, but she had never felt this-this…lonely before. And, she couldn't even talk to Alisha, her bunkmate, because her shift finished at a completely different time to Kara's.

How she wanted to have Danny back on-board already was inexpressible

She almost rolled her eyes at herself on how pathetic that sounded. She hadn't seen Danny in almost a day and she already missed him like mad. God, he really had a special effect on her. She was sure that she was going to have to kill Dr. Scott for sure before this mission was up-witnesses or no witnesses.

A knocking on her door stopped her from getting too far into her plans for murder. She flipped the book closed and tossed it on her bed. Her feet hit the ground without a sound, thanks to many years of practice. She unlocked the door to her quarters and slowly creaked it open.

Outside, Berney Cowley, otherwise known as 'Bacon' stood there, looking apologetic at her. She recognised him from several brief encounters that she had had with him. He was always a bit closed off at first but once you go to know him, he was actually quite a nice guy.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you Lieutenant Foster" he said as he straightened his stance in a show of respect to her rank "But, I was asked to give you this" he held out a hand with a folded up piece of paper clasped tightly between his fingers

Kara frowned at it but quickly took it from his nodding a 'thank you' to Cowley before he took off. She unfolded the paper and read the brief message inside

_'__Meet me in the gym in an hour, I need to talk to you'_

Kara was about to try and catch up to Cowley to try and ask him who gave the message to him. But, then she started to think. Who would need to run a message through someone else? Who couldn't be seen approaching her quarters in the late night hours? Who would need to stay hidden?

Danny

That brought a smile onto Kara's face. But, then she frowned and stared at the message confused

_Why didn't I know he was back early? I thought I would have seen them coming_

Anyway, someone onboard the ship wanted to see her. And, she was on a navy destroyer- what could happen? She looked from side to side in the corridor, then quickly stepped back inside her quarters and closed the door again.

* * *

**_An hour later…_**

Kara checked her watch while she sat on her bunk. It was now or never. She hopped off her bed, fixed up her uniform using the mirror and walked towards the door. Her hand reached out for the door handle

"Where you headed?" Alisha asked from where she was lying on the bottom bunk, minutely interested in the answer

"Uh…just going for a walk" she answered. It wasn't a complete lie anyway

Alisha shuffled to become more comfortable, not once looking away from her book "Don't say out for too long" she said in a sing-song voice

Kara didn't say anything, just nodded with a smile and left the room

* * *

When she reached the door to the gym, first she hesitated with her hand barely an inch from the handle to open it. But, she pressed on and swung the door open quietly.

When she stepped inside, the room was still. Quiet. No-one using the equipment and nothing in the room moving

"Lieutenant Green?" she called, wary of anyone who might be listening nearby

No answer. She spun round the room to look for anyone. Maybe she was late? Or early?

"Danny" she looked around again.

The sound of the door being closed behind her made her whip around suddenly. In front of her was a dark-skinned person. He wore the same clothing Danny did whenever he was off-duty. When she studied his face, she realised that…she knew him from somewhere.

Then it clicked. This was the same guy she saw when she and Danny went to dinner after their trip off the ship. Frankie- she remembered Danny telling her about some of the members of his team.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kara said with an innocent smile plastered on her face "I was just looking for-"

"My apologies for the subterfuge" Frankie interrupted her "But, I needed to speak with you" At Kara's puzzled look he continued "I know that you and Danny are currently seeing each other"

Kara's eyes widened in shock. She tried to stutter out "Uh, I-I don't know who told you that Lieutenant…but-"

Frankie waved his hand out in front of him as if to silence her. Kara's mouth opened and closed trying to find the words to say, but eventually, she just stopped trying and waited for Frankie to continue

"Relax. Who do you think made you that _lovely_ risotto the other day?" he asked casually "Danny can't cook even if his life depended on it" he chuckled and looked off to the side as if recalling a particular memory "Anyway…" he pulled out a small, metal chair and slid it across for Kara to use "…sit" he motioned towards the seat

Tentatively, Kara sat down on her seat as Frankie pulled his own one to sit across from her "So, shouldn't you be with the other SEALs?" she asked curiously

"I've been stuck up in the infirmary. Just got out a few minutes ago. Lucky, really" the way he spoke easily told Kara that him being stuck in the infirmary while Danny was off the ship had nothing to do with _luck_.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" Kara asked nervously, wondering why the hell he was talking to her

"Well, you and Danny, of course" he answered like it was obvious

Kara straightened her back slightly and immediately became defensive. She did not want to talk about that to anyone, even if this person was a part of Danny's team and even if Danny trusted him enough to tell him about their relationship

"Um…Uh, you know what, I think I'm just gonna leave now" Kara said uncomfortably as she lifted herself off the chair and started to walk away. She was mere feet away when Frankie's voice stopped her

"You know, Danny's never had that much luck with women, before"

She didn't know why, but the way he spoke seemed like it caused him some kind of pain to even think about it. Before she could ask, Frankie kept going

"We've had a lot of deployments, lot of different places, different ships different countries. Villages and cities" he stated "…and some of those times, there would be some woman here or there that would try to pick him up. Danny, as _sweet_ as he is, could never sense when something was wrong, even when I tried to tell him. He would always just go along with it. I hated to see him do it but there was nothing I could do to stop him. Not really"

Frankie sighed, remembering how helpless he felt whenever he was in that situation. Kara was even more confused now

"Is there a reason why you're telling me this?" she asked quietly, not really sure if she should say anything at all

Frankie took a deep breath before he continued "Danny would be happy for a time" Kara didn't miss the way that Frankie's hands balled up into fists at his sides. He was angry "But, then, always, _always, _a month or so later, he would get dumped" Frankie looked down at the floor, his face changing from anger to sadness "Heartbroken. That was when the real work started for us. Me and the other SEALs. He'd become depressed, not too much but enough to realise and enough to distract him from his duties. He'd mope around for months afterwards. Things would be bad for a time, but with the help of those around him, he eventually got back onto his feet" Now, Frankie started moving forward until he was towering right on top of Kara. She had to bend her head backwards slightly to keep looking at his eyes. And, he was staring right at Kara when he spoke next "If that happened here- out in the middle of the Arctic- then things would be bad. He could slip into anger, he'd become a mess, something not at all useful and I. Will. Not. Let. That. Happen. If anyone realised beyond the team, then Danny might be subject to having his status reviewed. It could ruin him"

Finally, it clicked in Kara as to what this meeting was about. This was the over-protective father/ big brother or…whatever speech. He was making sure that Danny was safe. That knowledge was more terrifying that anything she had experienced so far.

"I promise you that I won't-" Kara was stopped by Frankie yet again

"I just want us to be at a mutual understanding" he said in a strangely calm but cold voice. A smirk formed on his lips as he looked down at Kara "If you do anything, and I mean _anything_ to jeopardise Danny, I will make sure that you regret it. I _will_ tell the captain that you're breaking the rules on fraternisation. I _will_ ruin your career. I'd leave Danny out of it, but you, I won't hold back" he finished his speech and stepped back slightly to leave a bit of a bigger gap between them "Do we understand each other?"

Kara could do nothing more than nod repeatedly, too far into a state of shock and fear to do anything else

Frankie gave her a smile and lightly tapped her on the shoulder "I'm glad" he told her "Now…" he walked over to the door and opened it for her "I believe we're finished her" he told her kindly, almost like an officer would dismiss a subordinate after a meeting "You know, Danny does actually seem to like you" he said as Kara squeezed past him to exit "There's just something about you. Something…different"

Kara smiled over her shoulder and started walking back to her quarters. She could have sworn she heard Frankie whisper 'I'll be watching'

_Damn…I guess Navy SEALs are closer to each other than I thought _

* * *

The next morning, Kara was relieved to hear from a passing crewmember that the rest of the SEALs were back on-board. It was before her shift started that she heard so she had some time to kill and there was only one person she wanted to spend that time with.

It took a while but she finally spotted him from an upper deck as he was walking below her inside the ship. He was with the rest of his unit. That was a problem she had to solve.

_What to do? What to do? What to do? _She pondered

Eventually, an idea popped into Kara's head and she smirked at the thought. She just hoped it worked. She turned and walked off towards the door inside.

* * *

Knowing where they were headed- the gym, where else- Kara laid it wait. She walked down the corridor they were due to pass by at any moment. She scoped it out and saw the perfect place to catch Danny. There was a large storage crate leaned up against the wall of the corridor, so she crouched down by it, pretending to have some actual interest in it.

Five minutes later, she heard voices coming from round the corridor

"Hey, man, there's no way that I'm gonna let you ride the zodiac in order for you to do a sightseeing trip"

_Well, that's _definitely _Danny, anyway_

She quickly picked the crate up and dipped inside one of the small storage areas before anyone could see her. She quickly tucked herself away behind the wall so that she could still hear but couldn't be seen. The sound of four different voices talking at the same time came closer until they were right next to her. When she guessed the four of them had passed the entryway to the storage room, she stepped back out into the corridor.

This was the moment she waited for. She looked at the backs of the four SEALs who hadn't noticed her at all. She gripped the crate tightly and called out

"Hey, don't suppose one of you could give me a hand with this?"

Four heads whipped round to face her. She gestured to the crate in her hands with her head and made it look like she was struggling to carry it- because, honestly it weighed almost nothing.

At first, one of the other SEALs- who was not Danny- reached out to try and take it from her

_Oh, come on _she groaned. This was meant to be a perfect moment

A second later, Danny's hand latched onto the outstretched hand of the other SEAL in a firm, secure grip

"I. Got. It" Danny told him with a slight glare that translated to '_Leave, before I make you leave' _"Why don't you start on today's workout without me. I'll join you in a moment"

The three other SEAL's shared a discrete, knowing look before laughing and walking away. Danny rolled his eyes and walked over to where Kara was standing. He looked at the crate in Kara's hands and smirked, easily seeing right through her act

"So, where's this going?" he asked in mock interest

Kara smirked and shook her head fondly. She tossed the container to the floor, not really caring where it went and pulled at his arms. She dragged him until they were both hidden inside the storage compartment she had taken cover in before. Without giving him a chance to say anything else, she placed her hand at the back of his neck, pushed up on her toes and gave him a crushing kiss

Danny's brain took a second to catch up to what was going on but then quickly returned the kiss.

"Missed you. Missed this" he said in-between kisses

Kara just gave a hum of agreement as she continued to pepper him with kisses. They had a few minutes together, and Kara was going to make sure that Danny knew she loved him.

* * *

Almost a full ten minutes later, they both exited into the corridor, straightening their uniforms and Kara fixing her hair slightly so that it was flat again. Danny was mind blown. That was the best thing he had ever experienced in his entire life. He had seen a lot of things in his life, and _nothing_ could compare to that.

Danny cleared his throat nervously and gestured over his shoulder

"So…" he started "…I gotta…" he used his thump to point over his shoulder

"Yes" Kara agreed quickly "And, I gotta…" she gestured over her shoulder in the opposite direction

"Okay" he smiled down at her "I'll see you later? The usual place?" he asked hopefully

"All right" she said already looking forward to it "Well…" she smiled back at him "…I'll see you later"

"Yeah" he said. He turned to give one last smile at her before turning calling a 'bye' over his shoulder.

As Kara turned to walk away, she thought she saw a suspiciously familiar, dark-skinned figure, with his head half popped round the corner, watching from a distance.

Kara shook her head, laughing

_Honestly, if hiding from the rest of the crew wasn't hard enough already, now she had to hide from the _big brother _figure for Danny._

Perfect


	5. Confessions, and meeting the SEAL team

_A;N - Hello everyone. Another chapter for you. It may be the stupidest chapter I've written so far, but you'll probably still enjoy it. Hey-ho_

_Don't forget to review when you're finished :)_

* * *

**_A week later…_**

Another midnight meeting. When most of the crew would be sound asleep. Most, but not two particular crewmembers of the _Nathan James._

Kara, as eager as ever, was making her way through the ship, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid drawing the attention of anyone who might still be around. No-one should know that she was up and about at this time, everyone except Alisha anyway who Kara suspected wasn't buying her 'just going for a walk' excuses anymore.

She had been on her way to her quarters several hours ago when she got the message from a passer-by that someone needed to meet her on the stern of the ship, at midnight. Never anything more than that. They both had to go through others to get messages through to the other without suspicion or at least without anyone figuring out who the second person was if one was caught.

As she got closer and closer to her destination, only one through kept going through her head

_Please don't be Frankie this time_

Kara was just about make another turn when she was faced with the worst possible person.

Chandler

The captain was staring down at a clipboard in one hand with a coffee cup in the other. He didn't notice Kara standing there in front of him looking like a two year old caught red handed. When he was about to walk straight into her, only then did he realise that she was standing there.

"Oh" he said, surprised "Lieutenant Foster. What are you doing here?" To anyone looking, his voice would sound social and interested, but to Kara, she saw it as interrogative

"Uh…Uh" she tried to think up a believable reason "Just heading to the bridge, sir. Miller said that he needed some help with something" she said while trying to sound convincing

_He's never gonna buy that _Kara mentally kicked herself for how stupid that sounded

Chandler frowned in confusion "Did he say what he wanted help with?" he asked sincerely

_Okay…thought too soon _she smiled on the inside

"Uh…did not say anything, sir" she shook her head "I'm just gonna head up and try to deal with the problem. Then get back to my quarters…sir" she added, trying to make it seem more legitimate

"Hmm" he hummed, thinking it over "Well, carry on, then, sailor" he smiled as he gestured behind him, towards the bridge

Kara nodded "Sir" she saluted before nervously edging her way past him. She didn't see the slightly suspicious look Chandler threw to her as she walked away from him. He took a moment to ponder it before shaking his head

_Just me being paranoid _he decided

For a moment, Kara actually did head in the direction of the bridge but with a look over her shoulder to check it was clear, she quickly spun to face another direction and started walking away.

* * *

A few minutes later, Kara was out on deck, searching discreetly to see if anyone was nearby watching. She walked behind the helicopter, stationed on the helipad.

When she walked round the other side, she was surprised to see no-one standing there waiting for her. She looked round once again to make sure. Definitely, no-one there. Maybe he's just late. Or maybe, he and his team got stuck with something

_Wouldn't be the first time _she thought as she remembered the almost daily complaints that Danny had about him being stuck with some of the worst jobs

Kara was about to turn around and try to find him somewhere else when she heard a voice whisper "Kara"

Her head whipped round back to the stern of the ship. The voice came from behind a few storage crates stacked on top of each other. The perfect hiding place it being as far from the rest of the ship as possible, hidden from view against anyone looking and also blending in with the rest of the storage containers dotted round the place.

When she got behind it, what she saw made her entire face lift. Danny was lying on a blanket, his hands behind his head to form a pillow, his eyes looking lovingly up at Kara.

"What are you doing here?" she teased as she lowered herself down onto the blanket

Danny extended his arm to act as a pillow for her as she settled herself next to him. Kara rolled onto her side and snuggled up close to Danny, using one of his biceps as a pillow.

He wrapped his arm around her possessively and sighed contently. This was the moment that he looked forward to every day- when he got to spend time with the person that he loved the most. When he got to just be himself without having to keep up the act of the tough-guy navy SEAL who isn't afraid of anything. With Kara, he could just be Danny Green. An average guy.

They both looked up into the night sky. It was absolutely clear-perfect for watching the millions of stars that were lit above them.

"I thought you called it weird the first time I wanted to do this" Kara commented

Danny shrugged nonchalantly "I guess I had a change of heart" he muttered happily. He turned to Kara "Maybe I just needed the right person to show me the beauty of it" he said softly as he kissed the top of her forehead

Kara rolled her eyes and chuckled. She reached down with her hand and tangled her fingers with Danny's "You're such a romantic, Danny" she told him

Danny chuckled as he pulled Kara closer "You've seen nothing yet" he said

The two of them just stayed there for hours-thankfully the temperature was reasonably higher today than most days- just lying there, holding each other.

* * *

"What's gonna happen afterwards?" Kara finally broke the comfortable silence

Danny frowned "After what?"

"When we get back home. After the mission's done. What are we gonna do then?" she clarified

_Wow, this is an unexpected subject _Danny thought

"Well…" he tried to think of an answer "I-I'd like to stay…with you" he said unsurely of how he should go about this "Together, I mean. Isn't that what you want?"

"There is nothing I want more than that, believe me. Nothing. But, Danny...the navy won't be happy when they realise that we're in a relationship. There's going to be consequences. Who knows what they're going to do when they find out about…us" she rambled

Danny couldn't help but smile as he listened to her rant on and on

"I just don't know what we're gonna do when we get ba-" Kara was silenced as a pair of lips locked onto her own. She was shocked for a second but quickly melted into it and kissed him back. They stayed like that for close to a minute before Kara backed out when she needed to come up for air.

"Finished?" Danny asked with a cheeky grin which got him a soft punch on the shoulder from Kara

Kara chuckled and was about to turn away when Danny placed his hand on the side of her face. He turned her head back to face him

"Kara, there is something you need to know about me" he said, any playfulness gone from his voice, only the serious tone that could make the most hardened soldier respect the owner of that voice "Besides you, there are only two groups of people in the world whose opinion matter to me. First…" he held up one finger "my family. Second…" he held up another finger "my team. If the navy have a problem with it…then they can go _screw_ themselves. There are plenty of options out there for me, some with a lot better pay than what I get" Kara looked into Danny's eyes and saw nothing but sincerity

"Danny, no, you can't give up everything you know for me" she almost begged, looking up at him, trying to sound convincing

But, Danny was having none of it "I don't care. I love you, Kara. And, I would do anything to keep us together…as long as you want to" he said as he placed his hand back on the side of her head again.

Kara sighed and said nothing. Instead, she kissed him to show him all the feeling that she couldn't express through words. "Danny Green, have I ever said I love you" she said between kisses

"All the time" he chuckled. They withdrew from the kiss and the slowly sank back into their original position-side by side, with Danny's arm wrapped around Kara's waist.

The peace didn't last long. Soon after, Danny started fidgeting and couldn't quite seem to settle. He kept making nervous noises and it was not long on Kara how he kept glancing down at her as if he was trying to think of how to say something to her. So, she got right to it.

"_What _is it?" she moaned

"Well…you know what I was saying about there only being two groups of people that I care about?" he asked slowly

"Yeeeees" he said, trying to figure out where he was going with this

"Well, since my family's thousands of miles away, they're not an option…But, my team's only a few metres away" At Kara's panicked glance, he quickly followed with "Inside, of course Away from here"

_Yeah, except for Frankie, most likely. Sneaky bastard_ she thought, but didn't say, fearful for Frankie's wellbeing should Danny find out about their previous meeting

"Are you going where I think you're going?" she asked, half teasing, half serious

"I want you to meet my team" he blurted out "Get to know each other"

Kara sat in stunned silence. She sighed and looked away after mulling the words over in her head "Danny, is that such a good idea? I mean, the less people that know, the better. I thought that's what we thought was best"

"I know, really, I do. But, they're more likely to dive into the Arctic ocean without clothes on than cross me, so. They know better than that, so, I think we're safe with them" he said with a chuckle at the end" Danny knew it was a low blow but he went with a slightly 'kicked puppy' look and a pout when he added "…Please" in a quiet voice

Kara scowled at him for a brief moment, but she couldn't help the smile that broke through her stony exterior in a way that translated as 'I can't say no to that'. And, it was true. Whenever Danny wanted something, he always brought out the 'big guns' and there was no way that anyone, especially her.

"Urgh…fine" she sighed

Danny smirked triumphantly "Great"

They went back to lying side by side again. Kara was there only for a moment before she raised herself up on one hand. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and stared down at him "So…" she started "Was the star-gazing _actually_ what you wanted to do, or was that just _tactical_?" she accused, but with an underlying teasing tone

Danny went wide-eyed and looked left to right, trying to find an escape suddenly "Danny Green. Lieutenant. United States Navy SEAL. Serial Number. 576-40-95" he said with a smirk, reciting the Name, rank and serial number protocol for interrogation

Kara scoffed, rolled her eyes and lied back down again.

_SEAL's suck _she thought with a smile

* * *

**_The next day…_**

Kara's shift had just ended. It was one of the few times that it ended while it was still daytime _and _actually bright. Her original idea was to go back to her quarters, grab a change of cold-weather clothes and just spend the time before her next shift out observing the glaciers. But, today, she had other plans. Or, more precisely, Danny had other plans for her

She strolled over from CIC to the gym and casually entered through the door as if she wasn't as nervous as hell about what was about to come.

When she stepped inside, she took a quick lay of the land. In front of her were five SEALs spread out through the various training equipment. Danny was holding a punching bag from behind while another seemed to beat the hell out of it with punches. A third was using a set of dumbbells, ones that the likes of Kara couldn't even dream of using by herself. A fourth was lying flat on a weight lifting bench with more weights attached than she has ever seen before. The last. Frankie. He was just standing, watching her as she entered with an amused look on his face. Kara suspected, but really hoped against it that Frankie was able to _sense _how nervous Kara was.

Everyone else hadn't realised that Kara had entered the room. She cleared her throat loudly enough for them all to hear her. It worked at least. Every head, minus Frankie, snapped over to her. Danny was distracted long enough for him to let down his guard and loosen his stance behind the punching bag…just as the other was throwing a punch.

Kara let out a wince as she saw Danny go tumbling to the ground with a grunt. At least, he was able to catch himself before he did a complete face-plant.

"Ahhh" Danny said cheerfully as he picked himself off of the floor "There you are" he walked over to Kara and wrapped his arm across her back and held onto the side of her waist

The other four in the room formed a sort of semi-circle across from them, with Frankie taking a sort of central role in it

"Oh. Yes" Danny said as he realised that they were not the only ones in the room "Kara, this is Adrian Smith" he pointed to the one on the far left "Damian Hutton" he pointed to the one on the far right "Howard Drage" he pointed to the one on the middle left, standing next to Frankie "And, last but not least, Frankie Benz"

Kara smiled and nodded as Danny introduced each one. They all smiled back more faintly and instead looked her over with calculating eyes, like they were sizing her up for something.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you" she said trying to sound casual "I've heard about you. What Danny has said, anyway"

"Oh, have you now?" Hutton replied, wanting to know what Danny had been saying "Well, I'd love to hear what he's said" he said eagerly

"He's given me the odd detail, here and there. Nothing too much, anyway" Kara smiled as she explained

"Oh, really. I'm sure I could give _you _a few things about out little Danny here" Drage teased

Danny groaned which was his way of expressing '_Oh, crap. This was such a bad idea' _

They spent the next hour together, talking nonchalantly about herself. A few stories slipping through about Danny's one too many embarrassing moments during training. Kara's favourite involved a thermostat full of Bovril, Danny's hatred of the stuff and a room full of upper ranks in the Officers mess on their first on-board station.

After that one, Danny _had _to shut them down "Anyway…" he said trying to change subjects "Guys, I expect you to keep your big, fat mouths shut about her to anyone else" He said with a threatening tone "Unless you'd rather get stuck at McMurdo for the next _year. _Or _two_"

"Don't worry, Danny-boy. We'll take good care of her" Smith said as he stepped out from behind Frankie

For a brief second, Kara had a moment of bravery "Oh, is that a promise?" she said before her brain-filter could stop her. As soon as the world left her mouth, she stood there, her mouth opening and closing, like a fish "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Oooh. Cat's got claws" Smith cheered as a sly grin slipped onto his face "You certainly know how to pick them" he laughed, not realising the glare Frankie was throwing at him from his side. The only thing that made his stop was when Frankie slapped him on the back of the head

"Sharp enough to take you down" Kara said, her filter once again failing her

"Ohhhhhhh" they all burst out, cheering, except for Smith

"You gonna take that, Smith?" Drage asked

Smith didn't say anything, just bowed his head and shook his head when a smirk appeared

"Oh, is that a fact?" he teased

"I don't know. Should we find out? We've got a lot of stuff on-board" Kara challenged, friendly

"Yeah" he agreed, eagerly "How about we-"

"How about we settle this the SEAL way?" Frankie butted in with a devious grin on his face

Kara turned to Danny, looking for help on what to do. He just shrugged at her innocently. She sighed and turned back to the others who were all looking at each other with predator like smiles

_Oh, crap. What did I just get myself into?_

* * *

So, that was how Kara and five SEALs ended up on the stern of the ship, two targets set up near the edge, An assault rifle in her hand and another in Smith's. They were all on the walkway, overlooking the helipad. Luckily, the helicopter was otherwise indisposed on a supply run. Otherwise, that would have been awkward. She was laid flat on her stomach, looking down the sight of the gun at the target.

The target itself was the black and white drawing of a man. Several layers of lines were drawn on it to create different areas where points were awarded. A head shot equalled to 50, arms 5, centre torso 20, heart 100, neck 10, outer chest 15.

She knew Danny was standing behind her, his silent way of supporting her and saying 'I believe in you'

The other SEALs were standing in a row next to him, observing the two shooters

"Twenty bucks, Smith wins" Drage proposed as he pulled out two ten dollar bills

"I'm on Smith as well" Frankie told him as he pulled out two more ten dollar bills

"Yeah, so am I" Hutton said as he added his money to the pot

Drage made a confirmation noise as he took the money money and looked to Danny "What about you? You in?" he asked

Danny pulled out two ten dollar bills "I'm on Kara, of course" he said with a knowing look down at Kara

The other three just gave him a look as if he was crazy but took his money all the same

"Okay…" Frankie said loud enough for the shooters to hear "You got one mag each. 30 bullets is all you got. The one with the most points wins. Good luck"

Kara and Smith wasted no time in shooting. The bullets rang out quicker than most people could count. But Kara was able to could how many bullets she used to keep track of how many she had left.

Within about 30 odd seconds, the firing stopped. Kara let out the breath she had been holding in as her gun clicked empty. Next to her, Smith shot one final bullet before his clicked empty also.

"Not bad" Drage commented from first glance at the target

"Let's get down there. Check it out" Danny suggested as he climbed down the stairs that would take him to the lower deck

Kara and Smith stayed where they were and just watched as the others gathered round the two targets, trying to figure out exactly what each one got. Danny and Hutton took Kara's target while Frankie and Drage took Smith's. They each noted down their scores on their own group's pieces of paper. Their voices were quiet enough so that neither Smith nor Kara could hear what they were saying

Kara watched as each group showed their scores to each other. Frankie outright burst out with laughter as he saw Kara's score. And, suddenly, she didn't feel so confident.

It was another few agonising minutes before the four of them climbed back up to present the scores

"So? How'd it go?" Smith asked impatiently

Frankie just looked at him and took out the collective pot of $80 dollars from one of his pockets. He handed them over to Smith "Why don't you hold onto that for a second, buddy" Smith frowned but clutched onto the money anyway

"Okay…" Frankie started "Smith, your final score was nine hundred and eighty five"

"Yeeeees" Smith drawled on, wanting to know what was to come

"Kara…" Danny said, proudly "Your final score was nine hundred and…" he paused for effect "…_ninety five_" he finished.

"Yes" she cheered at the same time Smith gave out a "Oh, what?" groan

Kara turned to Smith, smiling brighter than the sun ever could. She didn't say anything, just held out her hand expectantly towards him. Smith shook his head but couldn't help the smirk that appeared from under his hard, stony face. He handed over the money which was quickly swept up by Kara.

"You've gotta teach me how you do that" Smith said as he happily walked off

"Maybe next time!" she called to him as Drage, Frankie, Hutton and Smith prepared to leave

"You know…" Frankie whispered into Kara's ear "You're not so bad. You might even be good for him. One day" he said as he walked past her

Kara smiled and nodded her thanks as the four of them walked away, leaving just Danny and Kara alone. She took $40 dollars and handed it over to Danny

"Oh, no. You earned that much" he smiled as he looked her over, trying to figure out exactly _how _she was able to shoot better than a trained navy SEAL. "Besides I knew you'd be able to do it. You said you could shoot. I just didn't know you could shoot _that _well"

"Well, you made the bet" she reminded him as she practically shoved the dollar bills into his hand "Spoils of war, Lieutenant"

Danny just rolled his eyes, nothing better to say. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no-one was watching when he grabbed hold of Kara and pulled her in for a strong, loving kiss

Kara just stopped. This was their first kiss that wasn't hidden through either darkness or walls. It was just out in the open. Out on deck. The whole world just seemed to stop. Nothing seemed to exist besides her and Danny.

When they finally, slowly pulled apart, they looked into each other's eyes and saw nothing but love for each other.

_Wow! _She thought for lack of a better word_ I gotta challenge the SEALs to target practice more often_

"I love you" Danny told her

"I love you too" Kara said as she leaned in for another kiss

"I gotta go" he groaned "Dr. Scott's gonna wanna head out soon"

Kara smiled on the outside and let Danny go. On the inside, she was thinking just how much of the doctor's work she could _accidently_ destroy before she got caught.

_Oh, well. At least the SEALs are on my side_

* * *

_If anyone has an idea for a request that they want for another Danny-Kara scene, let me know in a review_

_I'll try my best to get it done. Don't have a particular direction to where I want this story to go so, whatever you want_

_Until next time..._


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